arts&life

at home

Joy!

dahlia garden

brims with beauty

and benevolence.

SUZANNE CHESSLER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ELAYNE GROSS
BRETT MOUNTAIN
PHOTOGRAPHERS

B

efore the October sun rises over
Marty Gross’ West Bloomfield
garden, he is outside working on
it. Using a small light designed for head-
wear, Gross attends to a vast array of
colorful dahlias complemented by occa-
sional orchids and daffodils.
When it’s time to leave for Beaumont
Hospital in Troy, where he attends to
patients as a radiologist, Gro ss fills his
car with abundant variations of dahlias
to be generously given out to colleagues
and those undergoing treatment.
“It is among my greatest pleasures in
life to grow these flowers, cut them and
give them away,” says Gross, who also

spends time in his yard after work and
on weekends. “Every day, when they’re
in full bloom, I make multiple cuttings
and give them to people. The most mov-
ing experiences come from giving flow-
ers to patients with serious diseases and
watching their emotions.”
Gross’ interest in gardening stems
from his late father, Harold Gross, who
prioritized planting vegetables but also
planted flowers. Years ago, the two vis-
ited a dahlia show, and that became an
inspiration.
“I said I had to try what I saw, and I’ve
been doing it for 10 or 15 years,” Gross
says. “The garden gets bigger every year.”

One steady fan of Gross’ hobby is his
wife, Suzy, who likes having fresh blos-
soms around the house. Teachers and
students in the yoga classes frequented
by the doctor also get flowers, and they
have found a way to reciprocate while
adding to the giving.
Knowing that Gross likes to present
flowers in vases, fellow yoga devotees
often provide him with their emptied
water bottles, full before exercising
begins. They know he cuts off the tops
of the containers — more than 200 a
year — and fills them with dahlias.
“If you’ve given flowers to somebody
who isn’t feeling well, you know the joy

PHOTO BY ELAYNE GROSS

A West Bloomfi eld

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jn

October 12 • 2017

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